https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Thu, 09 Apr 2026 17:56:54 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/twin-moms-breastfeeding-tips-experiences-stories-needed#post-1990084 Thu, 18 Dec 2014 13:35:08 +0000 Mrs. Blue 1990084@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>First, congrats! </p> <p>My boys were born at 36 weeks, &amp; were both in the NICU for 8 days, which I think had a lot of impact on our BF experience. If you end up in that situation, don't be afraid to be very strong in standing up for your desire to BF. I was a first time mom &amp; had no idea what I should be doing, so I would do some things differently if I were to do it over again. They wanted to start supplementing the morning after they were born, &amp; we just went along with it. I'm not saying that was the wrong thing to do, but I wish I would have pushed back more to really understand why it was necessary to start that immediately. I think that got me off to a bad start supply wise.<br /> When they came home, I pumped, BF, &amp; supplemented. I will say my biggest success was tandem feeding. Once they were able to latch okay, it really wasn't bad at all. Give it a week or two, but don't be afraid to try, fail a few times and keep trying. It's a huge time saver! There are many reasons I could tell you that I think our BFing journey didn't t last long. (3 months), but most of them have to do with being naive, not knowing what I was doing either as a parent or when it comes to BFing, and them being on the early/tiny side. If it's something you really want and you push it, you'll probably have success..</p> <p>That said, if you need to supplement or even do to FF entirely, don't feel guilty! I was consumed with guilt for months. Ultimately, I felt like the time I was spending to pump, BF, &amp; supplement was taking away all the time I should have been spending enjoying my boys when I was only able to produce a teeny tiny amount of milk at that point anyway. I just say that because I don't want any mom to feel the guilt I felt. You're going to be raising three great kiddos, and BFing shouldn't be the hill you die on, so to speak. They'll turn out great no matter what, so be gentle on yourself whether you push to BF exclusively or eventually FF exclusively!</p> <p>Good luck and let us know if we can help you out in anyway. The other twin mamas were a huge comfort and help to me! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/twin-moms-breastfeeding-tips-experiences-stories-needed#post-1990006 Thu, 18 Dec 2014 12:52:36 +0000 Mrs. Train 1990006@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I also have one singleton and then twins. I had a c section delivery at 37 weeks for Pre-e. I have difficulties during the surgery and wasn't reunited with my kids for about 4 hours. During that time they were given formula because they had some blood sugar issues. I attempted nursing but was getting nothing (they also had poor latches). so we started a rotation of feeding, pumping, offering what little came out (even when it was just a little on my finger) then supplementing. I had to continue this at home because my milk didn't come in for two weeks. </p> <p>During the first few weeks I did not tandem. I was trying to figure the whole thing out and get them to latch right. at about three weeks we got better at it and then I tandem nursed the rest of the time. </p> <p>Once my milk came in I still had to supplement. I was basically feeding them round the clock all morning and by noon-1 I was just out so to give myself a break and to build up more supply I would feed them each a formula bottle. They would take a nice nap while I playing with my other son and then we would continue with nursing the rest of the day.</p> <p>At about 6 months when they started eating some food I was able to drop the formula and breast feed the whole time. </p> <p>I think with twins the big thing is not putting pressure on yourself. Try your best and work hard at it but also know where your stopping point is. At their 1 month check up I was in our pediatricians office sobbing that I wasn't able to feed them. She told me that The human body wasn't meant to have two kids. Some people produce enough milk for two and some people don't. It's just the way it goes and shouldn't make you feel guilty. For some reason coming from a doctor made me feel better about it.</p> <p>My older son was completely formula feed and he is perfect. My twins were breast feed with formula supplements and they are perfect. My daughter was exclusively breast feed and she is perfect. I just had to come to terms that each of my children have their own stories and as long as they are feed and healthy it didn't matter how it happened. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/twin-moms-breastfeeding-tips-experiences-stories-needed#post-1979004 Wed, 10 Dec 2014 14:50:20 +0000 tiffwnguyen 1979004@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@BabyMats, @marionberry: congrats to you ladies, too! hoping your pregnancies are going well, and maybe we'll be able to share joys and miseries once we're in the thick of life with twins!</p> <p>@kemma: thanks for the resource! I'll be sure to check it out.</p> <p>@twodoghouse: thank you thank you for sharing your story! I really appreciate just hearing different perspectives and thoughts. I do need to remember that how/when they're delivered will affect how BFing may or may not happen. I'm not against FFing per say, but since I didn't do it with my LO I have a hard time imagining what all that will be like. It is good to hear/remember that priorities will look different with twins, which is why I need to hear stories of mamas like you! </p> <p>@meganmp: thanks for sharing your story! and yes, congrats on EBF your twins! It is very encouraging to hear it is possible because I was starting to get discouraged to even try since I wasn't sure how "possible" it was. There was a place in my head where I "knew", but not hearing stories made it hard to make sense of what it could look like. I have no idea how my body will be, but I am a bit hopeful that I did not have milk supply issues with my LO. I was a faucet, and I did pump with her to build up a freezer stash. Hopefully this means that I can keep up and have enough milk for twins! I don't look forward to pumping, but I know that may be one of the best ways to keep sanity if they're slow eaters. </p> <p>@trailmix: thank you for sharing your experience. sorry to hear about poor latching, I remember with my LO wasn't the greatest latcher for a little while - it was frustrating! Good for me to note that while tandem feeding is better, it'll really all depend on how well each nurses. Also, way to not give up on trying to EBF even with early hiccups. So encouraging as delivery will be a beast in of itself! :)</p> <p>@mrsconfetti: thanks for the welcome! I will be sure to check out mrs train's blog!</p> <p>THANK YOU ALL for your kind words and encouragement. Excited to also try to utilize hellobee boards more! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/twin-moms-breastfeeding-tips-experiences-stories-needed#post-1977956 Tue, 09 Dec 2014 23:52:28 +0000 meganmp 1977956@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@marionberry: I nursed on my bed or the couch with a boppy- I preferred that over the rocker. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/twin-moms-breastfeeding-tips-experiences-stories-needed#post-1977954 Tue, 09 Dec 2014 23:51:13 +0000 Mrs. Confetti 1977954@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Congrats to all the twin mamas and @tiffwnguyen: welcome to HB. If you search on the blog, i believe mrs. Train blogged about her experience BFing twins (plus her first child wasn't even one at the time so she also had a big sib to contend with) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/twin-moms-breastfeeding-tips-experiences-stories-needed#post-1977940 Tue, 09 Dec 2014 23:37:41 +0000 marionberry 1977940@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@trailmix: @twodoghouse: @meganmp: Would you recommend a rocker/glider or some sort of loveseat for feeding in the nursery? We love our rocker/glider but I have heard that they're often not big enough for twins. Ideally what would you prefer to feed them on/in?<br /> @trailmix: I read in a review that the Twin Z might not be good for smaller framed women. Do you have any insight? I'm pretty petite, but otherwise the reviews looked to prefer this over the my breast friend for twins. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/twin-moms-breastfeeding-tips-experiences-stories-needed#post-1977812 Tue, 09 Dec 2014 21:56:19 +0000 Trailmix 1977812@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Ok, here is my experience as a twin mom who EBF for a year-</p> <p>I had a c-section and hemorrhaged, needing a transfusion about 36 hours later, plus I had Pre-E (reason for delivery) so had to be on magnesium sulfate for 24 hours after delivery. All this to say that I wasn't even allowed to attempt to nurse until 48 hours after delivery, so no matter what happens, don't give up hope that you will be able to BF.</p> <p>So we started nursing and both had trouble latching, even though they were big for twins and considered term (born at 36+4 at 7lbs2oz and 6lbs11oz) so we started using a nipple shield. I ended up using that for about 8 weeks until I was able to get them off of it because it was a pain but I still had really awful, mangled nipples for the first two months or so.</p> <p>I worked with a LC who specialized in twins and she recommended me to pump after the first three feeds of the day, to 'extend the feed' or tell the body to create more milk, so around 6 am, 9am and 12pm. I ended up adapting this to 3am, 6am and 9am because I got more milk that way. I kept up that schedule for several months (at least 3) and continued to have a 3am pump session for several more months after that.</p> <p>Typically, I fed mine tandemly so that they would be on the same schedule, but sometimes I did one at a time, especially as they got a little older. I used the Twin Z pillow, which was recommended to me by my LC and was a lifesaver, highly highly HIGHLY recommend for BFing twins! I did BF outside the home all the time, I would usually just do one at a time then but I remember some jerry-rigging to make it happen tandemly when both were screaming their little heads off.</p> <p>We only supplemented by choice because neither of mine were particularly good sleepers and I was desperately grasping at straws to try and improve their sleep so we gave them a bottle of formula before bed after nursing under the delusion that it kept them full for longer.</p> <p>I pumped in the beginning to increase my supply and then pumped when I went back to work every three hours. I also took supplements (fenugreek and blessed thistle) to increase supply as well as a daily regimen of wheat beer and oatmeal.</p> <p>I think that the fact that you've already had a successful BFing relationship means you're very far ahead of the game because you know how it all works. It's much harder if you've never done it before!</p> <p>And I am very proud to be an example of someone who EBFed twins for one year. It can be done!!!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/twin-moms-breastfeeding-tips-experiences-stories-needed#post-1977730 Tue, 09 Dec 2014 20:48:53 +0000 marionberry 1977730@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@BabyMats: Congrats to you too! I'm excited that there are other twin mamas to go through this with - esp those with prior children!<br /> @meganmp: Major props to you for EBF your twins! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/twin-moms-breastfeeding-tips-experiences-stories-needed#post-1977612 Tue, 09 Dec 2014 19:00:33 +0000 meganmp 1977612@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Congratulations! Twins are rad:)</p> <p>Forgive me for not reading all of the PPs, but I have to keep this somewhat short.</p> <p>Please share with me your experiences and any tips you have for nursing twins.</p> <p>Did you tandem feed? I did, but not at first, as my twins were my first children, so I was still figuring out how to BF. I did eventually, though, and it made things so much quicker. Towards the end, though, I did one at a time because they became champion speed nursers, and were done in 10 minutes. </p> <p>Did you do one at a time? I liked the one at a time bonding- it was nice. </p> <p>Did you supplement? Nope. EBF until solids at 6 months, and then continued with BF until whole cow milk at 1 year. I credit this with the insane amount of time I spent pumping- I did it after every feed at first.<br /> Did you pump? So much. Oh my lord. I hate the dang thing. I am in awe of people who EP.</p> <p> Any mommas out there exclusively pump? Not me- there is no way I could have done this, especially for the middle of the night stuff. </p> <p>Did you ever nurse outside the home - what was that like?! I did one at a time outside the home, and it was a piece of cake once I got the hang of it. Since it was one at a time, I imagine it would be just as it would be with a single baby, except that you are rocking your stroller back and forth to make sure the other one is quiet:)</p> <p>Good luck! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/twin-moms-breastfeeding-tips-experiences-stories-needed#post-1977610 Tue, 09 Dec 2014 18:57:09 +0000 BabyMats 1977610@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@twodoghouse: thank you for sharing! I am preparing myself for bf &amp; ff. I ebf my son until 14 months but understand that with 2 it may not be like that.<br /> @marionberry: congrats to u. To be honest I have kind of been following ur story when I found out there were 2 for me. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/twin-moms-breastfeeding-tips-experiences-stories-needed#post-1977589 Tue, 09 Dec 2014 18:29:19 +0000 marionberry 1977589@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@twodoghouse: Thank you for saying that! I'll have to go back to work so a freezer stash will be important to me too but I figure we'll just figure it out as we go. :wink: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/twin-moms-breastfeeding-tips-experiences-stories-needed#post-1977565 Tue, 09 Dec 2014 18:02:08 +0000 twodoghouse 1977565@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@marionberry: My sister supplements, but instead of offering a small bottle after every feeding, she replaces an entire breastfeeding session with a bottle a few times a day. She pumps then and adds to her freezer stash for when she returns to work in February. </p> <p>Don't feel bad about doing whatever you have to to stay same, well rested, etc. I truly believe all the "rules" go out the window with multiples and anyone who says differently has probably never had twins. :happy: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/twin-moms-breastfeeding-tips-experiences-stories-needed#post-1977549 Tue, 09 Dec 2014 17:32:56 +0000 marionberry 1977549@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@BabyMats: @tiffwnguyen: I'm 22 weeks with twins and have a 15 month old so I'm in your same boat with this same question.<br /> @twodoghouse: Thanks for sharing your methods! You said your sister does it differently, what does she do?</p> <p>From what I've read, a lot of people recommend EP or EFF. Not much has really supported exclusively breastfeeding with twins. I EBF my son until about 9 months although milk got really low by 6. I feel bad, but there's a big part of me that thinks for my sanity EFF might be best but I think I'm going to start with primarily pumping and supplementing. My DH wants to be able to help and EBF makes that hard. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/twin-moms-breastfeeding-tips-experiences-stories-needed#post-1977487 Tue, 09 Dec 2014 16:52:40 +0000 twodoghouse 1977487@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@tiffwnguyen: @BabyMats: Ok, I'll try to summarize my BF twins story 7 months in. This is just my experience, and there are so many ways this can go! My sister is currently BFing her 5 week old twins and does things differently, so obviously there's no right way! </p> <p>I think it's worth mentioning some things about my delivery in terms of breastfeeding my kids. I ended up delivering one vaginally and one c-section. I lost a lot of blood (discussed a transfusion but didn't end up getting one) and was monitored for 3 hours before I could be with my kids (our hospital was short staffed so they were in the nursery with DH during that time). So it was a long time before we tried breastfeeding. I didn't see an LC for 24 hours and I think I missed out on precious time in trying to get my milk going! I think that's where being second time moms will be helpful for you guys because you know what you're doing with breastfeeding already! Anyway, on top of that, my kids were born small (although we got to 38 weeks!) and they lost a lot of weight in the hospital. </p> <p>I did start pumping 24 hrs after birth with a hospital grade pump but wasn't getting anything. On the day of discharge (4 days after birth) my milk still wasn't in, my kids had lost 12% of their birth weight and were on the brink of jaundiced. So we started supplementing with formula (1 oz after each feeding). We ended up actually supplementing with high calorie formula because they didn't get back up to their birth weight quickly enough and they were just so tiny. We did weight he's feeds at the LC and they were (and are) good nursers but they only transferred max. of an oz from one side and half oz from the other which just wasn't enough to satisfy them.</p> <p>From a strictly breastfeeding position, supplementing isn't ideal. However, from a mom of twins place, supplementing is amazing. It takes so much of the stress off of you as their sole providers. It means your DH can give them bottles while you take a shower or a nap (which you will NEED!). It means you can give one a bottle while you nurse the other. Or of they are both freaking out at the same time, you can give them both bottles and nurse them next time. Being a mom of twins sometimes means being flexible in what you hoped/expected to be able to do! </p> <p>I did a lot of pumping in the beginning when I had a lot of helpful hands around, but it came to a point where I'd rather spend time with my babies than be hooked to a machine. Also, I never produced much when I pumped. I'm a SAHM so I don't pump much anymore.</p> <p>At 7 months my twins get most of their nutrition from formula, but they still nurse between 7-10 times per day. They much prefer nursing to bottles (no nipple confusion here!) and it's pretty much the only way I get them down for naps. Supplementing with formula allowed us to have a much more relaxed BFing relationship because I knew they were getting calories elsewhere. So if I had to cut one nursing session short in order to tend to the other baby, I didn't have to be strsessed that one kid was going hungry. </p> <p>I started off nursing one at a time because they were very little and needed a lot of support from me to keep their heads positioned right and latched on. Around three weeks my mom went home and I started tandem feeding out of necessity because they wanted to nurse around the clock and didn't want to wait their turn! They were still only about 5 and 6 lbs then so I propped their heads up on burp cloths to get them positioned right. I pretty much lived in my Twin Brest Friend for hours on end. We'd all fall asleep on it! Around 4 months They really started getting distracted by each other and Alice wouldn't eat in that position anymore. For the most part that was the end of our tandem feeding. That sort of makes me sad because tandem feeding was so awesome. It made me feel like a rock star, plus it was precious time that I could cuddle with both babies at the same time! But our BF relationship is still great now. Sometimes so great that I have no idea how they will ever give it up! They obviously see it as comfort, not as food, so I think they'll want to do it until they're 12, haha. </p> <p>As far as nursing outside the home, I do it all the time. Alice is super finicky about bottles these days, so sometimes it's the only way. I just do one at a time while nursing in public or at someone else's house, except for at my sister's. I'd just haul in my Brest friend and set up shop. She is a new mom of twins so it was educational for her! </p> <p>If you have any other specific questions, just let me know! You guys are in for such an adventures. Things are going to be hard, but it is so amazing to see them play and interact and grow up together! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/twin-moms-breastfeeding-tips-experiences-stories-needed#post-1976438 Tue, 09 Dec 2014 03:24:16 +0000 twodoghouse 1976438@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@tiffwnguyen: @BabyMats: Congrats on your twins ladies! I'm up BFing one of my twins now! I will come back later and write more about my experience combo-feeding my twins. I know there are a couple ladies here (thinking of Trailmix, specifically) that managed to exclusively BF. So it's certainly possible! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/twin-moms-breastfeeding-tips-experiences-stories-needed#post-1976434 Tue, 09 Dec 2014 03:12:11 +0000 Kemma 1976434@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@tiffwnguyen: I know nothing about bf'ing twins, but is there a possibility that you can get hooked up with an IBCLC (and your OB) prior to delivery so you can make a plan? I'm just thinking that if you've got a plan and some supportive providers then that might give you a head start. </p> <p>There was also a woman in New Zealand who wrote a blog and often spoke about being ebf with her twins (her twins must be almost five now so she's not writing anymore), here's the link:</p> <p><a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/blogs/pg-parental-guidance-advised/3996133/All-the-boobie-babies" rel="nofollow">http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/blogs/pg-parental-guidance-advised/3996133/All-the-boobie-babies</a> </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/twin-moms-breastfeeding-tips-experiences-stories-needed#post-1976427 Tue, 09 Dec 2014 02:50:19 +0000 BabyMats 1976427@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@tiffwnguyen: congrats! In the same boat as u. I have a 16 month old and am currently 14 weeks pregnant with twins. Wanted to bump this for u and see if some twin mamas will ad their experiences. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/twin-moms-breastfeeding-tips-experiences-stories-needed#post-1975666 Mon, 08 Dec 2014 14:47:31 +0000 tiffwnguyen 1975666@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Hello!<br /> This is my first time posting, so please forgive me in advance for any blunders I make as I figure out this world. :)</p> <p>I am a mama of an 18MO and 30 weeks pregnant with twins! We found out at 22.5 weeks we are having twins, so to say it's been a whirlwind is an understatement! As we gear up (literally and figuratively) to welcome our twin littles, I am in need of advice/stories. </p> <p>I was able to nurse my 18MO until she was just about a year, and we had extra BM stored up from pumping so we never gave her formula. I am slowly preparing myself mentally (and financially) that we may have to at the very least supplement or completely go with formula feeding the twins. Ideally, I'd like to nurse as long as possible, BUT the idea of nursing twins seems like an unknown mysterious world to me! </p> <p>Please share with me your experiences and any tips you have for nursing twins.</p> <p>Did you tandem feed? Did you do one at a time? Did you supplement? Did you pump? Any mommas out there exclusively pump? Did you ever nurse outside the home - what was that like?! </p> <p>Thanks in advance! </p>